Week in Review

Jan. 4, 2013Here is the latest edition of Week In Review - a series of weekly messages from the Mayor and City Council to help Richardson residents and businesses keep up to date on events at City Hall.

New Richardson Gymnastics Center Opens
The City of Richardson celebrated the grand opening of the new 16,000-square-foot, freestanding Richardson Gymnastics Center on Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, demonstrations and building tours. The new facility was funded by the City’s 2010 Bond Program, and the City hopes to achieve LEED certification for the Center in the coming months.

The new Gymnastics Center, located at the southeast corner of Arapaho Road at Grove Road, features a full array of gymnastics equipment and sufficient space and amenities to accommodate regional and state-level gymnastics meets, as well as amateur and competitive gymnastics training and practice. It replaces the previous gymnastics facility, which was housed in the Heights Recreation Center.

The new Richardson Gymnastics Center was built to serve the need of the rapidly growing gymnastics program. The City partnered with Brinkley Sargent Architects and Richardson-based Hill & Wilkinson to design and build the new facility. Additionally, the same design-and-construction team is working to develop the new Heights Recreation Center and Family Aquatics Center, which will be completed later this spring. The project team is seeking LEED Silver certification for the Heights Recreation Center.

In addition to a more modern design, the new Gymnastics Center will offer a significant amount of space for equipment. The facility was also built with a large viewing area for parents, ample bleachers for gymnastics meets and events, and a multipurpose room for meetings, parties and private events, all of which are upgrades compared to the previous facility.

A new law approved last week will allow North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) to resume pumping water from Lake Texoma when a new $300 million pipeline is completed in the fall of 2013.

NTMWD, which supplies water to Richardson, currently cannot utilize water from Lake Texoma, which represents 28 percent of its water supply, because of the invasive zebra mussel.

The change gives the NTMWD an exemption from the Lacey Act, which had prohibited use of water from Lake Texoma due to the presence of zebra mussels. Now use of water from the lake will be allowed as soon as a 46-mile pipeline to transfer water from the Texoma pump station directly to the water treatment plant in Wylie is completed. The closed pipeline and the water treatment process will prevent any invasive species, including the zebra mussels, from being released into the environment while restoring a major portion of the NTMWD’s water supply.

Despite the legislative action that will restore the Lake Texoma water supply late next year, the NTMWD remains under Stage 2 water management measures in response to the current drought conditions. An unseasonably dry summer and fall has resulted in Lavon Lake, the district’s primary reservoir, to drop almost 10 feet below the normal water level.

Water efficient practices are necessary to extend the current available supplies until Lavon Lake receives much needed rain inflows and the Texoma supply is restored.

Performer Announcements Begin Next Week for Wildflower! Richardson's Arts & Music Festival
Facebook fans will be the first to find out about the show lineup coming together for this year's Wildflower! Festival.

Wildflower! will begin posting the lineup on its Facebook page next week, and will continue to post show information as contracts are signed with new performers.

The information will also be included on the Festival's website, the City's homepage, and Richardson Today's Facebook and Twitter feeds.

January Richardson Today in Mailboxes
The January edition of Richardson Today has been delivered to post offices and should be arriving in Richardson mailboxes. The latest edition provides an update about the 2010 Bond Program, including stories about the Gymnastics Center and the new Fire Training Center. Other top stories focus on the transit-oriented development planned for the Bush Turnpike-Central Expressway area and progress on the Main Street/Central Expressway Corridor Study.

Richardson Today is mailed to every residence in the City and is also available at Huffhines Recreation Center, the Senior Center, City Hall and the Richardson Public Library. Ask your local mail carrier if you live in the city and do not receive your copy.

2013 Major City Events Scheduled for the Upcoming Year
Special events including the twice-annual Cottonwood Art Festival, Wildflower! Richardson’s Arts & Music Festival, Family Fourth of July and Huffhines Art Trails have been scheduled for 2013. See the full calendar of events below.

Volunteer ESL Tutors Needed
The Richardson Adult Literacy Center is again holding a training workshop for ESL tutors. The class is designed to train volunteer tutors who can then help others learn to speak English. Training will take place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Richardson Public Library.

To register for the workshop, contact the RALC office at 972-644-5119 or director@ralc.org.

“Tree Cycle” Your Christmas Tree
Now through Jan. 31, Richardson residents may “tree cycle” their Christmas trees by dropping them off at the Municipal Service Center, 1260 Columbia Dr. The site is open 24 hours seven days a week. Residents may also call 972-744-4111 to request a Brush and Bulky Item Collection (BABIC), then set the tree out at the front curb for collection.
All trees must be natural and unflocked, with all ornaments, tinsel, lights and other decorative items removed. Calls for BABIC must be received before the designated collection day (your BABIC day is the same as your recycling day).

“Not a Box” Event at the Library

“Magical Symphony Tour” Features Richardson Symphony Orchestra
Beatlemania Now, a live onstage tribute to the Beatles, will join with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra for three shows this weekend at the Eisemann Center.

The concerts will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $34-$52 and are available through the Eisemann Center Ticket Office at www.eisemanncenter.com or by calling 972-744-4650.

Pegasus Theatre Performance of “XSR:Die!” Continues at Eisemann Center
Pegasus Theatre will present “XSR:Die!” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Eisemann Center. The show's run will continue through Jan. 20. The murder mystery show uses special effects to appear like a black and white movie.
Tickets cost $20 to $35 and are available at www.eisemanncenter.com or by calling 972-744-4650. For more information, visit www.pegasustheatre.org.

Richardson Animal Shelter Pet of the Week
This is Zena. She is a domestic long hair, spayed female, about 4 years old and up to date on all her vaccinations. She is a very sweet and gentle cat and has been at the shelter since October 2012. She is great with people but was never around other pets. Contact the Animal Shelter (972-744-4480) about Zena or other animals available for adoption.